TRAIGH DEMASI — On Wednesday, October 26, the Collegiate varsity soccer team traveled to Horace Mann to play their penultimate game of the season. Coming off of a 2-1 victory over Poly Prep the previous Friday, the team was feeling confident about their chances. Unfortunately for the Dutchmen, starting goalkeeper Jeremy Rosenbluth ‘23 was out due to a head injury that he picked up against Poly. Tensions were high before the game because of the implications this game had; if Collegiate won, they would have a chance at finishing sixth in the rankings given they won their final matchup later that week.
The game started, and almost immediately, the Dutch were pushed back into their own half of the field. Horace Mann’s offensive pressure forced Collegiate to give up the ball after hitting it upfield. Collegiate surrendered a corner kick in the first minute, where an opposing player had an open header, but put the ball just wide of the post. After that corner, Horace maintained steady possession, attacking the Dutchmen from all angles. Horace players made many runs in behind the defensive line, and played through balls to get goal-scoring opportunities. Horace Mann’s biggest chance came after an effective through ball forced Collegiate goalkeeper Traigh DeMasi ‘24 into a one-on-one position. The chance was immense, but Horace Mann’s player struck the ball wide of the net. The constant pressure on the Dutchmen didn’t go away, and sure enough, Horace earned themselves another corner kick. The ball was cleared from the corner, and Jack DeMasi ‘23 started to dribble up field with it. Just as he crossed the half line, he was brutally fouled. Sam Dolan ‘24 stepped up to take the free kick, and with a ton of power in his kick, he hit the ball into the bottom left hand corner of the goal.
With halftime approaching, Collegiate collected a number of good chances. Joe Kennedy ‘23 made a beautiful run down the middle as a cross came in, but the Horace goalkeeper made an excellent save. Afterwards, the halftime whistle blew, and both teams regrouped at their benches. Once the second half started, Horace Mann came out with even more pressure and explosive shots. They rapidly released a flurry of on target shots: all of which were saved. Then, the game seemed to enter a deadlock. Neither team held possession of the ball for a controlled period of time. With about 15 minutes left, however, Horace Mann attacked swiftly and got the ball into a one-on-one scenario with the Dutch goalkeeper. The ball was buried into the bottom right corner. The season was over.
Or so they thought. With the score now tied, the Dutchmen needed to score and win the game to have any shot at the playoffs. Little did Horace Mann know, at halftime, the Collegiate trainer called the coaches to tell them that Thomas Philip ‘23, a player who had been injured since the fourth game of the season, was available to play. “Tommy P,” as his enemies call him, was subbed on with roughly 8 minutes left to play: but that was all he needed. With only 1:30 left on the clock, Collegiate earned a corner kick. “Tommy P,” standing left of the penalty spot, hustled to the ball and volleyed it into the bottom right corner of the net. The Collegiate bench erupted in cheers. The Dutch had done it again, this time with the saving grace of “Tommy P.”
The Dutch Report 